Louis Amberg

Louis "Pretty" Amberg (September 18, 1898 – October 23, 1935) was a Jewish American mobster. Along with his brothers Joseph and Hyman Amberg, he competed against Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and the Shapiro Brothers for control of Brooklyn's racketeering activities during the 1920s and early 1930s.

Early life Amberg was born in Kishinev, Moldova, Russian Empire into a Jewish family, the fifth of eight children born to Charles (Zabel)) and Rose ( Rivka Mindelwitz) Amberg. The family immigrated to New York in 1903. In 1910, his father's occupation was listed as a peddler. Louis Amberg was one of five brothers. In addition to Joseph and Hyman, his brother Oscar was tried but acquitted for murder and other crimes. William, who owned a furniture store, was the only brother apparently not in the crime business. Their mother changed her name to Rose Mandell because the Amberg name became so notorious.

Amberg had a tendency to stab a fork in the face of anyone who annoyed or offended him. He once stabbed Milton Berle in the face after Berle insulted him from the stage of the Vanity Fair Club.

Murder Joseph Amberg was murdered on September 30, 1935.

Amberg's body was claimed by an undertaker and he was buried without any ceremony. An individual named Al Stern or Stein, 21, was considered a suspect in the killing of both Amberg brothers and at least seven others since that August.

For the 10 months prior to his death, Pretty Amberg had been staying in a hotel in midtown Manhattan under an assumed name. Police searched the room and discovered more than $1,000 cash , jewelry (including a gold watch with initials not matching Amberg) and extensive records. The records, which appeared to include names, addresses and other data were written in some kind of code.

Aftermath The case remains officially unsolved, though he was alleged to have been killed by Murder, Inc. When asked if there were any suspects, a police detective reportedly answered, "Yeah, Brooklyn."